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Leaders and staff from state-run psychiatric hospitals across the region spent three days at Stonewall Resort in Roanoke this month, with William R. Sharpe, Jr. Hospital in Weston serving as host.
The 2026 Western Psychiatric State Hospital Association (WPSHA) Conference ran September 1-3. Sessions centered on care in publicly operated mental health facilities, according to the West Virginia Department of Health Facilities, which oversees Sharpe. Attendees traded experiences, worked through problems their hospitals have in common and looked at what works in mental health treatment, rehabilitation and hospital management.
Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital, which the state also owns and operates, made a presentation at the conference as well.
“Bringing leaders and professionals together gives us the chance to share what is working, learn from one another and identify new ways to strengthen the care we provide,” Sharpe Hospital Administrator Patrick Ryan said. “The work of state psychiatric hospitals is challenging and complex, and collaboration allows us to draw on the experience and expertise of our colleagues across the region.”
Health Facilities Cabinet Secretary Michael Caruso said welcoming colleagues from across the region to West Virginia “reflects our commitment to collaboration, education and improving the quality of care we provide.”
The department said the event gave Sharpe a chance to show the work being done in West Virginia and to take part in a wider regional conversation about where public behavioral health services are headed.
The association’s yearly meeting is meant to help member hospitals get to know one another, learn from each other’s successes and tackle as a group the problems particular to state-run psychiatric care. More about WPSHA is on its website.
My Buckhannon reported in June 2024 that Sharpe was preparing to launch an acupuncture detoxification pilot program for patients.
